It's hard to believe that such a route even has a certain significance in professional cycling, but the Colle delle Finestre in southern Piedmont is a Giro legend. The pedal cyclists have tortured themselves over the path several times. If you approach the Finestre with the power of your motorcycle, you can expect little trouble. Instead, the 2176-metre high gravel pass, which connects Susa in the valley of the same name with Fenestrelle in Val Chisone, is an excellent warm-up for gravel beginners and adventurous tourers.
The route from north to south initially takes you over winding and unpaved sections, but then rewards you with a narrow but easy-to-ride asphalt strip from the top of the pass downwards. Off-road beginners will therefore find a safe field of activity here without immediately overextending themselves.
As with many routes in the Italian-French border region, this one is also lined with dilapidated fortifications that remind us of a less peaceful Europe. These include one of the largest fortifications of its kind in the Alps: the Forte di Fenestrelle, which is well worth seeing and climbs 600 meters over three kilometres. The Assietta ridge road also branches off from the Finestre.
Conditions, closures and tips — from members who drove here recently.
Drove the Assietta straight afterwards. The road is completely clear and, apart from a few bumps, there’s nothing out of the ordinary. The 30 hairpin bends in the lower, tarmacked section can actually be quite fun ;)
We drove north over the Colle delle Finestre into the valley toward the town of SUSA for a coffee. The gravel road is currently being repaired and is still covered in very coarse gravel in some places, but further down it’s already been paved with fine sand. The paved road is very narrow, and you have to be very careful when encountering other cars—in some places, there isn’t much room to swerve.
The track is closed from November 1, 2025, through June 15, 2026
German
Italy
